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The social history of Coffee is one of most interesting and enlightening journeys in human history. As a species, we have killed for coffee, we have banned it’s sale, and it has been the subject of espionage.

My love affair with coffee started in my last year of high school. I had a morning spare class, in which I would go across the street to Maria’s in Amherstburg and gorge myself on their never ending coffee and greasy spoon breakfast. There I discovered Hunter S Thompson, Hemingway, Updike and Tom Wolfe, while I drank my coffee. First with cream and sugar, then with just sugar, and finally in it’s unadulterated black form.

Over the next decade I developed one of most substantial relationships of my life with coffee and more importantly caffeine. During university was my first real bout with depression and anxiety. Coffee was one of my coping mechanisms. As I grew up and became more in tune with my disease I began to see that my relationship with coffee might be a problem. To give you an idea, I would normally drink between 4 and 10 cups of coffee a day. Sometimes I would alternate cups of coffee with glasses of water because I found that I would get leg cramps because of the diuretic effects of caffeine.

In January I quit caffeine cold turkey. It was not an enjoyable experience. I’ve never really felt addicted to anything in my life. I am addicted to caffeine. The big problem is that my anxiety was in part triggered by my consumption most notably coffee.

I have fallen off the coffee wagon briefly in the past few months. Usually when I was feeling extra sluggish from new medications and whatnot. And I must say each time I have a glorious euphoria which follows with trouble sleeping for about 48 hours.

In all, I have usually lived my life with the “everything in moderation” motto. And sometimes I actually stick to it. But it took my a decade to learn that coffee, my dark mistress, was something I needed to walk away from.

4 comments

I’ve never really thought of caffeine as a drug, and I’m sure most other people don’t either. I only started drinking coffee maybe about eight months ago and didn’t notice its effects until this past week. For no reason in particular, I hadn’t had a lick of caffeine all week be it from coffee or a can of cola. About three days in I found myself unable to concentrate, walking around squinting with a headache. Then yesterday while out and about: 4 cups. Boom. I think the phrase I came up with on my caffeine high was “I feel like I can punch a hole in the universe!” By the time I came home, though, different story. Tired. Uninspired. Nauseous. Loss of apetite. As I went to bed I couldn’t sleep. Feelings turned to agitation, anxiousness, and eventually my mind was travelling to very dark places. It was weird, not unlike coming down from hangover or a high from, you know, something you would actually consider a drug. It’s made me reconsider putting this stuff in my body. Kudos to you for kicking it.

For sure man, i used to have three different blends around the house. A light roast for the mornings(lighter roasts have more caffiene). A darker roast incase I wanted something a bit richer for my french press, and espresso roast for obvious reasons. I’ve fallen off the wagon a few times and when I drink now it I feel like I just shot cocaine into my eyeball. Then I don’t sleep. I stick to tea and decaf if I really have a craving.